1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a finger-motion detecting apparatus and method, and in particular, a finger-motion detecting apparatus and method which detects finger motion by measuring, as a reflected signal of a measurement signal, a change in the carpal tunnel of a wrist, in which a finger flexor tendons controlling finger motion exist.
2. Description of the Related Art
With recent advances in information technology, various user interface schemes have been developed to use computers using new input modals such as voice, multi-touch, and gestures, which are different from existing methods such as mouses and keyboards.
In particular, there have been many attempts to detect a motion of a hand or finger according to user's intentions in order to apply it as a user interface, and even now, researches in various fields are being conducted.
As representative examples of such technology, there are LightGlove, which has an image acquiring device such as an image sensor and an infrared emission unit that is worn on the palm side of a wrist, and detects finger motion by acquiring infrared images reflected from fingers, and Scurry, which is a watch-shaped device and ring devices including acceleration sensors worn on a wrist and fingers, respectively, and detects finger motion. Also, there are Kitty, which uses a sensing device having a conducting wire shape wound around a hand to detect finger motion by touch between fingers, and a finger motion method using an EMG. In addition, there is GestureWrist, which can recognize hand gestures but not finger motion.
However, the above-mentioned existing technology should attach a device on a palm or fingers due to a signal detection structure. For this reason, user's activities are limited and it is inconvenient for a user to live in daily life while wearing a device.